Revere to feel impact of cuts in 2 weeks

REVERE – Even as he prepares to address next year’s spending cuts, Mayor Thomas Ambrosino is dealing with a $1.2 million reduction in this year’s state aid cuts. Forty-five city workers will see their work hours and salaries reduced beginning Feb. 20 to save the city money. Nineteen mostly part-time workers will be laid off and three officers undergoing training will not start work.The personnel reductions save about $300,000 so Ambrosino is also digging into city financial reserves, cutting police and fire overtime pay and proposing to double health insurance premium contributions for about 300 retired teachers.”It is difficult to fathom a more bleak financial picture,” said Ambrosino as he introduced $3.7 million in city spending cuts confronting the city next year that will include reductions in public safety and City Hall jobs.Ambrosino said the 28 percent cut in the city’s share of Lottery revenues and state money given to the city could be reduced to $3 million if the city can bring in more money from meals and hotel room taxes. But the cut could even approach $4 million if these added tax revenues promised by Gov. Deval Patrick do not materialize.Patrick’s reduced spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1 includes cuts in state community policing money. Ambrosino said this reduction leaves the city without money to pay eight police officers whose salaries were funded by the state money.”In the absence of this line item, eight police positions will either need to be absorbed within the Police Department budget or eliminated,” he warned.The Revere Police Superior Officers Association quickly moved to lessen the impact of this financial blow Monday by voting 30-1 to defer salary increases negotiated last year. Association President James Guido said the deferral will save $150,000.Ambrosino is looking for municipal union concessions across the board.Schools so far have been spared cuts but that trend could end once the scale of Fiscal 2010 spending cuts becomes clear. School Superintendent Paul Dakin oversaw $1.5 million in school spending reductions so far this year, mostly through energy savings and layoffs of 13 paraprofessionals who assist teachers and secretaries. Schools have mostly eliminated night time events to save on heating and lighting costs and reduced the amount of time boilers operate during the school day.Dakin said the current $60.2 million school budget matches the minimum school spending threshold and the spending amount required to meet state education goals. That goal-oriented amount, called “foundation spending,” jumps under a state spending formula to $65.6 million next year, leaving local schools with a $5.4 million potential spending shortfall under current state spending projections.”This is very disturbing. If I have $5.4 million in cuts it will be the largest proportionally speaking in the state,” Dakin said, adding he hopes federal officials will provide stimulis money”If they don’t, 77 teachers will be laid off and there will be other cuts as we can muster them,” Dakin warned.